Breaking News - NMPA, NSAI, DiMA Royalty Rate Settlement.

Speakers

Danielle Aguirre is Executive VP and General Counsel at the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA). Ms. Aguirre oversees NMPA’s legal, business, and policy objectives.  Her role is to protect and enforce the copyrights and intellectual property interests of songwriters and music publishers.  Ms. Aguirre aggressively combats digital piracy and infringement litigating on behalf of NMPA’s members.  She facilitates model licenses with digital services and labels to ensure publishers and songwriters are compensated fairly for the use of their songs.  Before the Copyright Royalty Board, she leads a legal team fighting for higher mechanical royalty rates under Section 115 of the Copyright Act.  Notably, Ms. Aguirre worked with stakeholders including digital companies, broadcasters, PROs, and record labels to negotiate and pass the Music Modernization Act, which became law in 2018. She currently serves on the board of the newly established Mechanical Licensing Collective. 

Prior to joining NMPA, Ms. Aguirre was an attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.  She received her JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her BA from Georgetown University.

Garrett Levin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Media Association (DiMA)—the leading organization advocating for the digital music innovations that have revolutionized the way music fans and artists connect.  

Garrett’s deep experience at the center of music licensing issues, pragmatic political savvy and commitment to consensus building has earned him a reputation as one of the most trusted policy voices in the music industry today. As part of his work at DiMA, Garrett serves as the representative of the digital music services on the Board of the Mechanical Licensing Collective and as a member of the Advisory Board to WIPO for Creators. He also sits on the National Recording Preservation Board at the Library of Congress.   

Prior to DiMA, Garrett was Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), where he led on all copyright-related issues. He previously served as senior counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, as a copyright policy attorney at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and as a litigator specializing in digital copyright issues. Before law school, Garrett edited award-winning documentaries, including The Three Pickers and the Peabody Award-winning The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow.  

Garrett graduated with a B.F.A. in Film and Television Production from New York University. He holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke University School of Law, and an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Duke